Grasslands Biome - Hayley Laseau


external image map_grasslands_pampas.jpg
Where they can be found: Grasslands can be found in the North American Great Plains, The Ukraine, Russia, South Africa, and Uruguay.

Latitude: The Latitude in which temperate grasslands can be found is in between 25° and 65° latitude.

Rainfall: 10 - 30 inches per year.

Soil: The Soil of the temperate grasslands is deep and dark. The top layers of the soil are the most fertile because of the buildup of many layers of dead branching stems and roots.

Temperature Range: -40 degrees Fahrenheit to 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Seasonal Conditions:
Summer: Temperatures can get over 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Winter: Temperatures can get as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit

Plants: There is a wide variety of trees and grass in temperate grasslands; Trees: cottonwoods, oaks, and willows. Grass: purple needlegrass, blue grama, buffalo grass, and galleta.

Oak Tree
Oak Tree
Purple Needle Grass
Purple Needle Grass
Cottonwood Tree
Cottonwood Tree


Oak trees adapt in the way that they are able to get nutrients from the soul beneth them and that's what allows them to grow.
Purple Needle Grass adapts in the same way as any other plant. It is used to its environment and gets nutrients from the soil.

Animals: There are lots of animals in temperate grasslands. These include wild horses, wolves, buffalo, prairie dogs, jack rabbits, deer, mice, coyotes, foxes, skunks, badgers, blackbirds, sparrows, hawks, owls, snakes, grasshoppers, and spiders.

Wild Horses
Wild Horses
Buffalo
Buffalo
Coyote
Coyote

Both Wild Horses and Buffalo are Herbivores and survive off of the grass the grows arounf them.
Wild horses
Coyotes are Carnivores and survive off of Mice, prairie dogs, jack rabbits, and skunks.

Grassland_Trophic_Pyramid.JPG
Bibliography:
  1. "Grasslands - Grasses, Conditions, Soils, Especially, World, and Tropical." Science Encyclopedia . Google, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2010. <science.jrank.org/pages/3127/
  2. "The grassland biome." UCMP - University of California Museum of Paleontology. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2010. <http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/